Symbiosis II
by Abigail Emery
Summary: Sequel to Symbiosis. Stella and Grace thought it was over. What happened to them a month ago was in the past. Or so they thought... A grudge goes a long way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Stella knew something wasn't right as she stared at the metal roof. Her eyes were heavy and she was having trouble keeping them open. There was a relaxing motion beneath her that vaguely resembled being in a moving car. When she really paid attention, there was an engine-like noise, as well as distant, incoherent talking of at least two different voices. She felt obligated to be more alert, but had trouble drawing genuine interest or energy. She noticed the panelled roof she was looking at was of a car, a type of van more specifically.

She didn't feel the need to figure out more, but she couldn't remember how she got there, and she wasn't exactly sure what was even happening. The last thing she remembered was being at the pub with TR after work. She wondered if she'd just had too much to drink and was being given a ride home.

She slowly let her head fall to the side and saw the metal wall less than a ruler's length away from her face. Following it back up to the roof, she realised she definitely was in a moving vehicle. This compelled her to try to think back to how she got there. Was she in danger?

She felt a tickle on her forehead and reached up to scratch. By the time her sluggish brain registered, she'd simultaneously felt immediate pain and wetness on contact, and was shocked to feel both arms move up. She brought her hands into view and saw they were tied with thick rope, and the tips of her fingers had blood on them. She squinted at them for a short moment, then widened her eyes in horror. She started breathing erratically, frantically looking around and trying to sit up. She didn't get to see much before a hard whack to her head had her lying motionless on the floor again, and torpidly watched as the roof disappeared through the rapidly spreading tiny dots.

—

Stella was awoken with a start, although incognizant, by the sudden feeling of movement and quickly noticed she was being dragged. She lifted her head and picked up her feet to try and walk, but wasn't able to keep up the pace. She looked around, briefly stunned by the brightness. There was a masked guy on either side of her, their arms locked under hers, and they were pulling her towards the entrance of an industrial looking warehouse. She looked both sides and saw the array of quiet industrial buildings, and glancing over her shoulder she saw an off-white van parked close by.

"Stop," her voice croaked as she picked her feet up again, trying to get her balance. Something about this didn't feel real, like maybe it was a vivid dream, but she was just kidding herself. The pace was too quick, so instead of trying to walk she dug her heels in and leaned back, trying to stop the inevitable. The guys grunted and tugged her up so she lost her footing and was forced to keep moving.

They stopped in front of the door and one of the guys punched in a five digit key code. The buzzer sounded and they opened the door. "No," Stella tried to pull back again, fighting against the grips on her arms, but was easily dragged onward. For some reason her body wasn't responding the way she wanted, and her mind was hazy and slow. She recognised that something bad was happening and that she needed to get out, but at the same time her mind wasn't in overdrive like it should've been, trying to form a single plan to escape.

She was dragged down a long corridor of doors, continuing to put up a fight of digging her heels in while trying to pull back, but without her full strength she wasn't able to do much more; they simply pulled her up to keep moving. Suddenly they came to a stop in front of a door, and while one of the guys grabbed a set of keys from his belt loop, Stella looked down both directions of the corridor. It looked like they were close to the end of the hallway, just one door left, as it veered off to the left around a corner. The other direction was the way they came, and her vision tunnelled, making the bright fluorescent path look shorter then longer.

Her attention changed when the door swung open and they started to drag her in. "Wait, stop." She dug her heels in again, but like before, they just pulled her up. When they let go of her arms it left her feeling unsteady on her feet. She heard them exit the room and lock the door behind them, but didn't feel confident enough to spin around as she felt she might fall over. Instead, she looked down at her hands and saw they were still tied. She gently tried pulling in hopes they'd unravel, but they didn't budge. At least they weren't tight, she thought.

She was drawn to the room around her and she slowly panned the surroundings. Blinking heavily, she tried to rid the blur. The room was surprisingly spacious but not much was in it. The walls almost matched the grey colour of the cracked concrete floor. There was a tiny hand basin in one corner, and next to it, contrast to the dingy look, was a shiny toilet, and she thought how odd and out of place it looked. There was piping running up the wall in another corner, and a narrow, frosted window was up high on the wall in front of her. She turned around to see the door had an opaque glass window on the upper half. She stepped towards it, trying to look through, but she could barely make out shapes. As useless as it was, she tried twisting the handle several times before giving up. Where was she and why had they locked her in a room?

A sound came to her left and she stilled, straining her ears to listen. She walked a bit closer, noticing a vent low on the wall in the corner near the pipes. There was a sound again, definitely coming from the vent. She kneeled down next to it, lowering her head to listen.

"Stella?" a voice said.

Her eyes widened and she almost stepped back in surprise. She knew that voice.

"Grace?"

* * *

Just wanted to say a huge, huge thank you to insanedairyfarmer, my lovely beta, I couldn't have done it without you!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Grace?"

"Stella!"

"What's happening? Where are you?" Stella was quickly being brought out of her daze.

"I don't know. Ah," her voice cracked. "I'm locked in a room. I think I was drugged. I can't remember anything."

Stella frowned, realising that's probably why she felt the way she did. "Yeah, same," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. You?"

"I'm fine. Do you know where we are?"

"I have no idea. I can't see outside."

Stella wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to the next question, but without remembering anything about the past day, she needed to know. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long," — Stella let out a breath in relief. — "There's no way out. I tried calling out for help, but someone came to the door and told me no one would hear, 'the glass is soundproof and unbreakable.'" then she added with a lower voice, "Stella, there's bars outside the window."

Stella looked up at her window and noticed the blurred outline of bars. They were vertical, and the thick metal was generously spaced out. She swore silently to herself. She couldn't believe it had only been a month since they were kidnapped and now they were in the same situation again. Hell, their injuries were still healing. If Stella bent the wrong way or strained herself her ribs still throbbed. They weren't long back on the job, and now they'd be forced to have more time off for "mental health," at best—if they'd even get out this time.

Stella tried to pull her hands apart again, but the rope was knotted too tightly. As long as she didn't think about it, it didn't bother her. "Are you sure there's no way out?" Stella lowered her voice, realising it might not be such a good idea talking in a normal tone as they didn't want to be overheard.

"I'm sure. I've searched every part of this room. The only way out is the door." Her tone matched Stella's, obviously picking up on the same thoughts. "Check yours."

Stella nodded, even though Grace couldn't see her. She started by taking in the room as a whole again, trying to spot anything she missed. But there wasn't much to miss in the next to empty room. Apart from a hanging light bulb, there was nothing on the high ceiling. The concrete floor was worn and stained, and on the other side of the room there was another vent in the same spot. She walked over to it and tried to peer through, but she couldn't see anything due to the angle. Both vents would be too small to fit through if she managed to kick them open. She looked up to the window and stepped back until she touched the opposite wall, but it was too high up to see out. She jumped up a few times to see if it helped but it made her dizzy so she stopped. She took a few deep breaths and awkwardly rubbed the side of her neck with her bound hands. There was a tender spot towards the back, and when she really paid attention to it she wondered if it was a needle mark. It lined up with her memory loss and sluggishness as well as Grace's suspicions of being drugged.

"Hey," Grace called to her quietly.

Stella walked over to the vent. "Yeah?"

"I think I remember something," she started. "I left the pub after we all went out for drinks. I caught a taxi home."

"Yeah... Yeah I remember that," at least several hours had passed since then because it night when they went out and now it was daylight. "I left soon after. Michael and I carpooled," she tried to focus as hard as she could. Any details could help them. "He was dropped off first. That's all I remember. Next thing I know I'm in here."

She heard Grace sigh. "Michael won't realise you're missing if his stop was first then."

"What about Connor?" she sat down, making herself comfortable as she wouldn't be needing to get up any time soon.

"He's away."

Stella had learnt her lesson and had mostly kept her mouth shut when it came to the Josh and Connor situation, but this time it was necessary to be brought up. "Josh?" her voice unintentionally came out so quiet she wasn't even sure Grace would hear.

"Maybe. I'm supposed to be working on Sunday so when I don't show up they'll know."

"So what day is it today?" Stella asked rhetorically.

"Good question," Grace scoffed. "Unless they kept us drugged then I don't think they'd last longer than hours. It's probably Friday now."

"Great, so we can expect to be here for at least two days unless we find a way out." Not intended for Grace to hear, Stella quietly commented to herself, "Unless we're killed first."

She had to force herself not to think like that. So far they had shown no reason to want to kill them. If anything, it looked like they planned to keep them here for a while; it didn't get past her that everything else in the room looked dull in comparison to the toilet. To her, it looked like they'd recently put it in, meaning they were planning someone would be staying in the room for an extended period of time. And it looked like that person was her. She hoped she was wrong and was counting on someone noticing they were missing. She didn't want to go through it again, being held hostage. As strong as she was, it still scared her. She had no idea what was going to happen to her and Grace and that was more than enough to make her stress.

"What does your room look like?" Stella asked.

"Bare. Concrete box. There's a long window up top, too high to see out from though. The door has a frosted over window. And there's a sink and toilet."

Stella cursed to herself. "Sounds like mine. Does the toilet look new?"

"Yeah," Grace sounded intrigued. "Why?"

"Because mine looks new as well. I think their plan is to keep us in these rooms." Grace was quiet on the other side, and after a few moments Stella asked, "Grace? You okay?"

"I can't believe this is happening again," she started, her voice still low. "It's only been a month. Is it not a coincidence that they've taken both you and me, just like last time?"

"I don't know what to say, Grace," she leaned her head back against the wall and aimlessly looked around the room.

"Yeah, well, me neither. I don't think there's anything we can do at this point anyway," she scoffed.

"Hah. Déjà vu."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After seeing no movement at all from their captors since she got there, it came as a surprise when someone stopped in front of Stella's door. Their shadow stood still before speaking. "Go to the back of the room, sit down, and don't move."

Stella was sceptical, readying herself to jump into action if need be, but still sat down at the other side of the room. She didn't want to get ahead of herself and try fighting with this guy when she didn't know anything about him, his capabilities, or much of what was outside this room and if it was safe enough to escape with Grace.

The door opened and a masked figure stepped in, closing the door behind him. Next door, she heard Grace's door open and close within seconds and hoped everything was okay. "This should help with the side effects," he said, and slowly walked towards her with a water bottle. That just confirmed her and Grace's suspicions that they had been drugged. She wanted to reply, to ask why they drugged them and where they were and what they were going to do, but she knew from her previous experience that they wouldn't answer. She wanted to tell them that they'd drugged and kidnapped two police officers, but also said nothing about that because it seemed like they knew what they were doing in planning and she figured they'd know that already. Plus, if they didn't know, it wasn't necessarily a good thing if they found out. So instead of speaking her mind, she stayed calm and quiet, looking menacingly up at the man with the black ski mask standing above her.

He placed the water bottle next to her before reaching behind him. He pulled out a knife, but before Stella could react he said, "Sorry for the rough treatment," and grabbed her hands to cut the rope. She didn't reply. He lingered just a bit too long on her hands, not breaking eye contact, and she had to conceal the shiver down her back at the sheer creepiness. He finally let go and stood to leave the room without another word, locking the door behind him.

Stella tried to remember details of the two people who brought her in. It was slightly hazy but she was fairly certain this was a different guy. She wondered just how many people were involved. She barely got a glimpse of what was outside the room, but from her memory it was a long corridor, and she and Grace's rooms were at the end before the corridor took a turn. There wasn't much else to see.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Stella could only just hear Grace's quiet speaking from where she sat, and she moved closer to the vent to talk. "I'm fine. Someone just came in and gave me water and untied my hands. I heard your door open and close, what happened?"

"Got some water as well, they just rolled a bottle in."

If Stella was right, she guessed there were at least three or four people involved so far: the two that brought her to this place and the guy that just came into her room, with the possibility of one more that gave Grace the water—her door was opened after the masked guy came into Stella's. Of course, it could've just been one of the original two guys. But Stella wanted to pay attention and make mental notes of all the things that were happening so she could not only try to remember how they were kidnapped, but also how to get out.

She started to pace the room, looking hard to try and spot anything she missed the last time, or the time before that. She knew it was useless but she couldn't help it. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing. After a while she stopped, getting frustrated, and gently rubbed her eyes. She noticed a tender spot on her forehead and couldn't remember how it got there. She figured it was from the hands of her captors. It wasn't bleeding but she could feel the dried blood that had trailed down to her temple.

She walked to the scratched aluminium basin and turned on the tap. Angry creaking echoed around the room and she looked at the pipes on the wall. She could hear as the water spiralled around and finally made its way to the tap, coming out at a pathetically slow rate. Without a mirror to see what she was doing properly, she wet her hands and rubbed off the dried blood, then carefully dabbed at the wound.

She went over to the door, attempting to look out through the frosted over window. She pressed her head against the glass but still saw nothing. The faint, blurred lines of a door opposite her room were the only things she could make out. She tested the door knob just for the sake of it, not expecting it to be open but feeling the need to do so regardless.

"Are you sure you can't see anything out the window on the door?" Stella asked quietly when she walked to the vent.

"I'm sure," Grace replied. "I can't see anything."

—

Every now and then Stella had seen someone pass by the door. They never stopped though. No one seemed to leave either—they all came from the direction she was brought in from. Of course, there could be other doors they were using, but in order to come up with a plan, she'd rather think there were more people than less, that way she'd be expecting several people, or would be relieved there weren't as many.

She sat against the wall opposite the door and absentmindedly watched the opaque window. Something in her mind kept repeating itself, a bright flash of light, and she tried to figure out what it was from. There was another flash, and this time she remembered something—something big.

"Grace!" She rushed over to the vent. "I think I know how I got here."

There were three quick, loud thumps of someone pounding on the door, and Stella jumped. "Oi! Don't think we can't hear you both talking. You need to shut the hell up or I promise you'll regret it."

The figure then disappeared from the window, and Stella watched just a moment longer. She crouched down even more next to the vent. "Should probably watch our voice level."

"Yeah," Grace replied quietly.

Stella wasn't about to shut up, especially when she had something important to tell Grace. They needed to keep talking to fill in the pieces anyway. "After Michael was dropped off, we pulled up at a red light. A car t-boned us," she explained. She had been sitting in the back seat, and remembered seeing in her peripheral vision the headlights getting bigger and brighter until they were finally hit. Luckily, it wasn't on the side Stella was so she didn't catch the worst of it. She thought she must have blacked out briefly on impact because the next thing she remembered was being slumped against the door and seeing some people get out of the car and walk towards the taxi. "I think there was a van there, too." After that, she only vaguely remembered being forced out the sliding door of a van, and being locked in this room.

"If you were in an accident the police would know—TR would know. Maybe the cabbie will be able to help," Grace whispered.

"That's if he's even alive," Stella didn't want to think negative but she couldn't help it. He would've caught the brunt of it.

Thanks to a sudden throb she remembered the wound on her head, and connecting the dots, she figured, coupled with other random scrapes and bruises she'd found on her body, her minor injuries were from the accident, not their captors.

"You don't..." Stella paused for a moment. "You don't think this is connected to last month, do you?" She didn't want to think it was. After all, they never found the leader's body.

"I don't know," Grace said honestly.

Stella slumped against the wall. Even though she had thought it a million times already, she just couldn't believe this was happening again, that she—and Grace—had been taken.

Within an hour the sun had started to disappear, and the single hanging light bulb came on with a flicker. Only one person walked by the door which she assumed was to turn on the light. Stella wondered how long she would be in there for, and her rumbling stomach wondered how long it would be until she got food. She alternated between pacing, sitting down, and trying to see through the windows and vents. She wasn't having any luck.

When the light was turned off later, she stood still and looked at the room before her. The moonlight was coming in strong through the window so she could still make out where everything was, but it made the dingy room look even more dark and ominous than daytime. She couldn't sleep. She didn't want to. Grace had said they should both try to get some rest so they could start fresh tomorrow, but Stella had a feeling deep down of dread, that things wouldn't improve any time soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Morning sunlight brightened the room Stella was pacing. She rubbed her aching neck, then her stiff back. She had dozed off a few times throughout the night, sitting wedged in the corner near the vent to Grace's room, but she never stayed asleep for long.

There was a click at the door and she stopped pacing to look. A guy opened the door and slid through. He closed it quietly. She stood still there for a moment, kind of stunned that she was actually seeing one of her captors with no mask. His hair was dark, matching his eyes. Stubble covered his lower face. He didn't say a word as he marched across, and before Stella could defend herself, he punched her in the face. In the time it took her to compose herself he already had her pushed flush against the wall. His forearm was pressed against her throat, and soon there was a knife there, too.

"Don't make a sound," with a steady hand, he slowly grazed the tip of the knife against her skin, starting on her neck and working his way up. "Or I'll mess up your friend and make you watch."

Stella recognised his voice. This was the same guy that came in earlier to untie her and give her water. She stared straight into his eyes. She didn't want it to look like she was as intimidated as she felt.

"I've been watching you for a long time. I was so excited when I found out I was finally going to meet you."

Stella felt violated, creeped out that she'd been watched by this clearly psychotic guy for who knows how long.

"I have some great plans for us."

She closed her eyes, hoping when she'd open them she'd be at home and none of this would've happened.

The guy lifted her chin with the knife to bring her attention back to him. "You're so pretty." If it was even possible, he moved closer to her. "Too bad you can't stay like that," he followed with a harsh punch to her stomach, making her double over as the air escaped from her lungs. He pulled her back up, pushing her against the wall again. A wicked smile covered his face.

She wouldn't be caught off guard again when he tried to swing the knife at her. She ducked to the side, grabbing his knife wielding arm, and swung him around so their positions were reversed. She followed by ramming his arm against the wall, and eventually the knife fell to the floor with a light clink. With one hand already pinning his arm against the wall, she pressed her other arm firmly against his throat, mirroring his previous actions.

"Oh, so you like it rough?" The corners of his mouth curled up.

Disgusted, Stella pressed further up into his throat, eliciting a choking sound from the guy. Although she was almost entirely leaning her full weight onto him, he shoved her away, making her take a few steps backwards. Her eyes darted for the knife, and a quick glance up told her the guy did the same. They stared at each other for a minute moment before both diving for the weapon. Stella's knees were unforgiving to the concrete and she'd later regret it. Just as she caught hold of the handle, the guy yanked it from her, the blade slicing her palm, and he swung his elbow out, knocking her away. She balled her hand up and held it close. In the back of her mind, she considered just making a run for the door seeing as though it was unlocked, but she didn't want to turn her back to him.

They walked an invisible circle, readying for the inevitable fight. "What are you gonna do?" he asked with a grin, like it was some kind of game.

Stella foolishly charged at him, planning to swiftly take the knife from his hand before he knew it, but he lifted it away just in time, only to grab her in a tackle. The knife sliced her back but she barely took notice; she drove him into the nearest wall, punching him across the face, following with an elbow. He blocked her next move and kicked out at her legs, making her lose balance and fall to the floor. He kicked her with rage just seconds after she hit the ground, not giving her a chance to get up. A painful heave came from Stella, and she felt winded. Curled up, clutching her stomach, she looked up at him. He spat out blood on the floor then wiped his mouth.

He waved the knife at her. "You shouldn't have done that."

Stella yelped when he roughly grabbed her by the hair, both pulling and dragging her towards the wall with strength. He pulled her onto her feet and against the wall, and even in the midst of being shocked, as he tried to stab her with the knife, she managed to grab his arm before he got too close. That didn't stop the guy from pushing harder, and Stella couldn't stop it when it touched her skin, slowly but surely making its way into her stomach. She tried to stay strong, stoic, and not show her hurt or terror, but still couldn't help the noise that came out. How could she not when it was clearly painful?

She used all her force to push it away, successfully stopping it from going deep, but her current strength just wasn't quite enough. She kneed him in the groin, making him automatically double over. Stella didn't waste any time, grabbing his head like a football and kneeing him again with all the strength she could muster. He flopped to the ground, unconscious.

Stella pushed her hair back and stared down at him, trying desperately to catch her breath. The knife was still in his hand. She cautiously leaned in to take it from him when she heard Grace through the vent asking if she was okay and what was happening. She took her eyes off the guy for a moment too long to look at the wall. His eyes had suddenly flung open, and his hand gripped the knife. He swung it out at her. Not expecting it to happen, it slashed Stella's arm as she overbalanced and fell to the floor, and then again on her hand as she defended herself before she could move away.

Without even thinking, she brought her hand to one of the wounds, glancing down at it in automated shock. Not brief enough. He sat up and whipped it around again, first catching her shoulder, then her chest. Stella continued to scramble backwards, but was too slow to stand. He flicked the knife around again, which got her in the side. She swung her legs out to try and knock him down, but he saw it coming and jumped back. Stella clambered to her feet, only to be knocked down to the ground again. She remembered hitting her head, a sickening crack reverberating through her ears, but nothing after that.

She figured she must've briefly lost consciousness because when she opened her eyes the guy was on top of her, licking her face. Her brows furrowed in repulsion and she let out a disapproving growl as she shoved him away. She heard Grace going crazy next door, bashing on the door and yelling for help. She hadn't taken notice before, but she had started just seconds after she spoke through the vents and the guy started swinging the knife.

Someone opened the door to the room. "Hey!" it was a female. She marched towards them, and the guy let go of Stella. Stella laid there looking at the ceiling, stunned, soaking in what just happened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you bloody idiot?"

He stood and took a step back in defence. "We were just having fun. Right?" He looked down at Stella, a delusional look on his face.

"You've crossed the line. We weren't meant to touch them. He's not going to be happy about this," the woman told the guy. "Get out of here. Now. Sadistic piece of shit." She muttered as he begrudgingly left the room. He looked back at Stella one more time with the slightest hint of a smile before disappearing beyond the doorway.

Stella couldn't believe what just happened. The woman, whose face wasn't concealed like everyone else's, looked nothing like a criminal or kidnapper; she just looked like a regular person you could walk by on the street. It was comforting yet disconcerting.

"Please just let us go," Stella begged quietly, but the woman ignored her. Instead, she bent to help Stella up. A wave of dizziness flooded her and she felt nauseous, suddenly glad the woman was holding her upright. She was starting to feel the results of the fight.

She didn't have much choice when the woman started to walk her towards the door. She dug her heels in, knowing wherever she was going probably wasn't good. "Wait, wait, wait," she looked at the woman but her face was expressionless.

They left the room, and Stella tried to take in everything she could while she had the chance. She was reminded of the vast hallway in one direction that she knew led outside, but they were walking in the other direction. She continued to resist, trying to ignore the exhaustion seeping into her body, but then they stopped at Grace's door, the woman shuffling through her pockets. A group of people roared into laughter and Stella pulled away slightly to look around the corner. There were several people sitting in an open room off the main hallway, much like a lounge. One of them spotted Stella.

"Oi!" he stood up. He was wearing a fluorescent uniform and his facial hair was bordering a beard. The others followed his gaze, rushing to put on masks or turn away to hide their face. Stella quickly looked down. She noticed for the first time that her clothes were a ripped, bloody mess, and every inch of her abraded skin throbbed with her heartbeat. "What are you doing? He told us to keep them separate until he gets here."

"It doesn't matter now," the woman said. "Patterson already fucked things up." She knocked on the door in front of her, "Go to the far end and sit down." She waited a couple of seconds to unlock the door, and Stella relaxed when she realised she was just putting them in the same room together.

Grace was sitting down against the wall and they walked over to her. The room was almost exactly the same as the one she'd been in. As she got closer, she saw Grace had a couple of abrasions on the side of her face. She looked concerned and restless as the woman took Stella to her, gently lowering her down. "Take care of her, will you." Although Stella thought she was meant to sound nice, it sounded somewhat accusatory.

Grace instantly pulled Stella into her lap, hunching over her with her arms around her torso and head in a protective stance. The woman left without another word and locked the door behind her. Grace ran her hand through Stella's hair and just for that moment, that single moment, she thought everything would be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sitting against the wall, Stella pressed against the wound on her stomach and watched as Grace aimlessly walked around the room talking to herself. She kept asking why this was happening, how it could be happening so soon after last time, and if it was at all connected. She mirrored Stella's thoughts perfectly. There was nothing else to do but think, and that's what Stella was doing. Grace, too, obviously. Grace said they needed to get out, to be found. She worried about what would happen to them, and who this "he" guy was and what he wanted with them. Eventually, Stella couldn't take the questions any longer.

"Grace," she called her over, but she didn't seem to hear. She tried again, "Hey, Grace!"

Looking concerned, Grace turned to her and rushed over, looking her up and down. "What? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm okay, I'm fine. I just want you to stop pacing. It's giving me a headache." Unlike a period of time not that long ago, Stella hadn't been as fussed about showing her emotions around Grace as she used to be. She had cuts and bruises that were throbbing and her head ached. She just wanted Grace to sit with her for a bit simply for the sake of it.

Grace slumped down next to her with her knees drawn up and began tapping her toes on the floor. Stella looked at her. Grace sighed and stretched her legs out in front of her, "Sorry. Restless."

"Let's talk about something else then," Stella suggested. She needed a distraction.

Grace looked her up and down again. "Let me see that," her hands were already moving Stella's away from her stomach. She lifted up her shirt just enough to see the wound. Dried blood mixed with wet and sticky. "I don't think it's too deep. Looks like it's not bleeding anymore."

Stella put her hands back over her stomach regardless. It hurt too much to do anything else. Grace had looked at most of the injuries from the fight and concluded the majority were superficial, but in their current situation, there wasn't anything she could really do about it anyway.

Grace nodded. "Oh," she jumped, "I remembered something else before. I remember getting home, but before I reached the house I think I was jumped from behind," she turned her head away. "Do I have a needle mark here?"

There was a tiny red dot under her finger on her neck, so small that Stella would've missed it if Grace hadn't have pointed it out. "Yeah." Stella moved her own hair away, recalling that she'd also found a tender spot on her neck. "What about this?"

Grace nodded. "You've got one, too."

"Why would they drug us? Whoever these people are, they must have access to medications."

"So we wouldn't know where we were going, maybe?"

"But why us? Again?" Stella found herself asking the same questions over and over, and now they were back to the original conversation they tried to stray from.

While talking, there was a dull background chatter from outside the room, but it had gradually gotten strong and they both found themselves looking at the door expectantly. Stella couldn't hear their exact words but what she got from it was, "Why bother with the mask, one of them has seen you?"

"I don't care," someone else said. It was two males. "I don't wanna take any chances." The speech was directed at them next, "Sit against the back wall and don't move."

A few seconds passed and then the door was unlocked. A masked man came in. He held two plastic trays, which he put on the ground not two metres into the room before exiting and locking the door behind him. There was food and a water bottle on each tray. Grace got up to bring them closer.

"I don't think I can stomach this right now," Stella's nose curled up. Baked beans. The smell was so strong. Her stomach churned just looking at it.

"You have to try. We haven't eaten since we got here."

Stella continued to look at the cold, glossy beans. "Do you think it's poisoned?"

"I think if they wanted to kill us they would've done it already. Just try a couple of mouthfuls." Grace scooped some up, nodding a few seconds after she swallowed, "It's fine."

Stella tentatively picked a few up on the spoon and put it in her mouth, trying to push the nauseating feeling down by breathing deeply. "We should come up with a plan to get out of here."

Grace nodded. "Maybe next time someone comes in with food, we should take them down and slip out."

"I don't know if that's going to work. There's like a lounge just around the corner and I could see them from outside the door."

"You saw their faces?"

Stella nodded slowly. She knew that for her own safety that it wasn't good. They obviously wore the masks for a reason.

"Shit," was all Grace said.

"I know..." there was a brief pause. "But I noticed that they don't actually have a way of knowing we go to the back before they open the door. Maybe we can use that to our advantage."

"Yeah. Someone came pretty quick when I started yelling earlier. We should stage an emergency, lure them in."

"What, like a fire?!" Stella wasn't quite sure where she was going.

"No, like we pretend something's seriously wrong with you. You lay on the ground and I'll say you've stopped breathing, and when they come in, I'll knock them out, drag them in, then wait for others to come and see where their mates are. Then we'll add them to the pile until we've got a window of opportunity to get out."

It sounded too easy, but it was the best they'd come up with. If they couldn't rack up a body tally, they would've at least made it easier to either disable the rest of the group, or find a way out.

—

As Stella was getting into position on the ground, Grace readied herself next to the door. After Grace nodded to confirm they were set, Stella rolled onto her side so she was facing away from the door, suppressing a wince, and waited patiently for Grace to start yelling. Instead, she heard the door open to the room she was in before. She looked at the wall. Grace did the same. There was someone talking, and she knew just who it was. A flood of warmth went through her, head to toe, and she looked straight to Grace. It couldn't be true. Neither said a word. They didn't need to. His yelling was muffled slightly by the walls, but there was no mistaking him for the man responsible for kidnapping them last month.

From what she could hear, he was yelling about where the hell Stella was because she "wasn't in her room."

A little further away, someone replied. "She's in with the other one."

In just a few seconds his shadow was in the opaque window. Grace came to help just as Stella started to scramble to her feet. She stared at the door, trying to imagine what was happening on the other end. The leader then started raising his voice again, getting angry at whoever he was talking to. Then she heard the guy from before, who attacked her, saying something about the woman not wearing a mask—even though he didn't himself—and how Stella saw everyone's face. Stella swore internally.

"You're bloody hopeless. All of you. I'll separate them myself. I'm not taking any chances after last time."

That, Stella definitely heard.

The door opened then, without any warning like before, and to no surprise, it was the same man from a month ago. Stella kicked herself after she took a step back, hating that she inadvertently acted weak in front of him. But she couldn't help it. She still had nightmares with him in it. She'd wake up in a sweat, but she never remembered what happened in them. She knew he was in them though. Maybe this was just one of those nightmares. She dug her fingernails into the wounds on her palm to see if she'd wake up, but she didn't.

The man walked straight over to them, and with a sly grin, said, "Remember me?"

Stella nearly laughed when Grace spat in his face, but settled with a snicker.

The man blinked, then wiped his face. "Now that's not very nice, is it?" he backhanded Grace, a surprising clap filling the otherwise silent air. He grabbed her face to focus on him. "Look at me. _Look at me_."

Stella desperately wanted to do something, but she had no idea what; there were three other people in the doorway and hall watching in. She was outnumbered.

Grace looked at him with contempt, and the man smiled with an evil laugh. He roughly let go of her face. He looked at Grace a second longer before looking at Stella. Her heart rate hit the roof.

"Now... You," he closed the distance between them. "Time to get you back where you should be."

He lunged for her arm, and Stella wasn't quick enough to pull away. He started dragging her towards the door. Grace jumped at him, managing to shove him before one of the onlookers stepped in and grabbed her, driving her face first into the closest wall. Stella saw the guy was holding her there so she couldn't move. Even though it was no use, Stella tried pulling away, out of his grip. Her injuries flared but she didn't care. When he grabbed her around the shoulders to get a better hold, she took that opportunity to take his arm, pulling it up instead of out, and biting down as hard as she possibly could. He yelled out in pain, releasing his hold, and quickly threw her to the ground so he could cradle his wound. Stella laughed as she laid on the floor, her shoulders racking.

The man threw his hands up in the air, "She's not worth the god damn trouble." Then he left the room with the others in tow.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Stella continued to laugh even after the man left the room, and Grace's hands were on her shoulder within seconds. "Are you okay? Are you crying?"

Stella spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor, "That's for being a fucking asshole." She rolled onto her back and laughed.

Grace looked at her worriedly for a moment longer before joining in. "I can't believe you just did that," she said.

"I know," Stella couldn't get over how funny it was seeing his reaction.

Grace helped Stella stand and they moved away from the door. "Did you know he was still alive?"

Stella had no idea. It was no coincidence that they couldn't find his body. She just assumed he was dead. She wanted to ask Grace at the hospital if she'd checked to see if he was still alive before they left, but she didn't get the chance; they got distracted by others, and later on Stella's excuse for not investigating it further was mostly denial. She didn't want to believe he was still alive. She kept telling herself that they didn't find him because it had been deeper into the bush than she'd told the police, or even the wrong direction she thought. She forced herself to believe her own lies, and she hadn't been able to muster the courage to go out there herself to look.

"I thought you shot him in the chest."

"I think it was the stomach," Stella recalled. She never looked back so she couldn't be sure. Either way, he was obviously lucky to have not died, and even luckier to not be caught. Thinking about it, she should've punched or elbowed him in that general area just before—maybe she'd have gotten lucky and aggravated his healing wound.

They sat down against the wall again. Grace let out a sigh. "Why do you think he kidnapped us again?"

"I have no idea. He probably got other people to do it for him so he wouldn't be suspected. It worked. TR aren't going to realise it's related, if they even know at all."

"They'll know by now, Stella."

Stella shot her a look, a "you don't know that" look. Judging by their location and amount of people seeming to be involved, she wondered just how big this whole thing was. They needed to come up with a better plan, something better than staging an emergency.

—

Only a few hours had passed when the leader came back. Stella briefly worried that he'd come back to take her to the other room, but figured he'd think twice about touching her again. There was no warning to go to the wall and sit down. Instead, he emerged with excessive bandaging wrapped around his forearm, followed by two masked guys behind him who stopped at the door, shielding it. Stella smirked at her handiwork.

"Let me get straight to the point," he started. "This is just the beginning. This is just one stop. I have so many plans for you both, I don't even know where to begin. I didn't get the chance to start anything when we last met, but this time... This time I will. You sent my three best men to prison — among other things. They were trained well; after all, I'm still standing here right? They didn't rat me out," the was a smirk on his face. "Say, Senior Constable Barry, do you remember Brodie Wilson?"

Stella looked at Grace expectantly, but she kept her face expressionless.

The leader looked straight at Grace, leaning in, his voice low and laced with anger, "He's dead now. Because of you."

What did Grace do that pissed off this guy so much? And why did she not seem to know who this Wilson guy was?

"And you," he turned his attention to Stella. "Well, you're just collateral. A nice trophy. Plus, you shot me," he said with a shrug. "I'm not finished with either of you yet. You have no idea what's ahead of you. You should prepare yourself." After one final glare, he gestured to the guys behind him and they all walked out, the door locking behind them.

—

"Think, Grace, think."

"I don't know!"

"You need to! Who is Brodie Wilson and what did you do to him?"

Grace was pacing and rubbing her temples. She let out a sigh and groaned. "I can't remember. Just let me think."

While Grace thought, Stella realised the leader said those three guys from last month were his "best men," meaning the rest of the idiots outside were not as capable and should be a breeze to get past. At least she hoped so. Of course, she still hoped that someone — anyone — would notice that either she or Grace were missing, instantly connect the dots, and miraculously knew where they were being held. She was constantly hoping that the door would be busted in and she'd see her team on the other side, warm smiles of relief on their faces.

"It was my second month on the job," Grace suddenly stopped in the middle of the room. "Before TR. My partner and I were called to persons acting suspiciously. I arrested Brodie Wilson for intent to sell. He said it wasn't his and he wasn't involved but he went to prison. This guy must have been watching the warehouse before taking us last month. You, Michael, and Lawson went there both times before, and he obviously waited and took his chance when I was there." Grace took a step closer to her, "I'm so sorry you got wrapped up in all of this, Stella. Things weren't exactly copacetic between us back then but I would never wish it on you, or anyone."

"No, don't apologise, it's not your fault," Stella shook her head. "Shit happens. Wrong place, wrong time."

Grace sat down next to Stella. "Maybe Brodie was his brother? Best friend? I don't know." Grace paused before shaking her head and looking down. "I was just doing my job."

"I know," Stella's voice was sympathetic as she rubbed Grace's arm. "I know."

—

"No, that's not going to work," Stella shook her head and sighed heavily. "As much as I hate to say this, I just can't hold my own right now."

"Well we have to try something."

As time went on and the remnants of adrenaline faded, everything ached more and more.

"What about the window?"

Stella looked up at it, eyeing the small handle in the middle. Was it too much to ask that it just happened to be lock free? If they were lucky, they'd be able to slide through the bars on the other side. "You really think they'd leave that escape option open when they've locked us in here like this?"

"Of course not. But we still have to see. Doesn't mean we're going to do it now."

Grace went over to the pipe work on the wall, testing the lowest one with her foot before grabbing one with her hand and lifting herself up.

"Be careful," Stella warned. The last thing they needed were two invalids.

"I will." With slow and carefully positioned placements, Grace gradually made her way up the wall. The piping held up, but Stella's nerves were still on edge as she got higher. Her heart skipped a beat when Grace's foot slipped as a bracket came loose.

"Shit." Grace caught herself quickly.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," her voice was laced with worry.

"I'm basically there, Stella." A few more steps to the side and she was as far left as the thin pipes would allow. Grace tightened her hold as she reached towards the handle. She stretched as much as her arms would allow without relatively compromising her safety. Stella watched as she tried to open it, sparing a glance at the door behind her.

A rough click bounced off the walls, then, "Got it." Grace pulled herself back to the pipes and began to slide the window away from her. As soon as it started to open, it sent a horrible, loud, grating noise across the room. Grace stopped immediately, hastily pulling it back towards her to close it.

"Shit, shit, shit," Stella could feel the panic rising. It was only a matter of time before someone would come. "Get down," she urged. "Quickly."

But it was too late, the door to the room was already opened, someone's hands pulling at her shoulders and roughly shoving her into the wall. She let out a deep groan as the air escaped her lungs, and it felt like the person pressing into her from behind was crushing her ribs. She wasn't even resisting. She turned her head just in time to see two people pulling Grace down by the legs, her kicks doing nothing. She fell to the floor with a thud, the two masked people standing over her.

"Nice try," the leader's voice came from the door. "I did not see that one coming. I must admit, I have to admire your perseverance. But let's not go trying anything like that again, okay? It's better for all of us if you don't."

Just as suddenly as it happened, they all retreated from the room. Stella's head was spinning and she wasn't feeling confident enough to move very far, so she simply turned around and let her body slide down the wall.

Grace was slowly getting up, examining her scraped forearms with a _guhh_. "At least we tried."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Stella's stomach rumbled and she tried to suppress her hunger. It had been several hours since they tried to escape and they'd had no contact with anyone since. She was beginning to think that they weren't going to bring them any more food. In retrospect, she thought it was stupid that they tried to make a break before they were served with breakfast. They'd only been given two basic meals a day, and so far there hadn't been any food coming through that door.

"I can't just sit here and wait for the cavalry. Who knows how long it'll take for someone to notice we're missing anyway."

"Like I said before, if you were in a car accident, the cabbie would've told the police what happened. They'll know by now."

She tried to embrace Grace's positive thinking. But her stomach was not. The lights had come on not long ago and it was dark outside the window. They would surely have to come and feed them soon. The leader had said he had so much planned for them, implying he wanted to keep the pair alive—at least for now. But between her hunger and her desperate need to get herself and Grace out of there, she opted for the latter.

"I think we should try again," she started. "We would be stupid not to."

"We'd also be stupid _to_ do it. Plus, I don't want to open that window again."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about knocking out the guys who come in here next—hopefully with food—and sneaking down the hall to the entrance. Forget trying to fight them all, let's just deal with whoever comes next."

It wouldn't be a good idea to try and stage an emergency, especially with the leader there. He was smarter than that; he'd see right through it. Attempting to sneak out without being seen or heard seemed to be their best option, aside from waiting and hoping their captors wouldn't hurt them.

"That actually doesn't sound too bad. There shouldn't be as many people here at night either, or at least they'd be sleeping."

"Yeah. And with any luck, the door won't need a code to open it from the inside."

So it was back to waiting. All they were doing was waiting. Besides coming up with ways to escape, there wasn't much else to do, let alone keep them occupied or entertained. She couldn't sleep, mostly because it was too painful on the concrete—however, the coolness was welcome on her back and ribs—but also because she didn't want to let her guard down for a second. Not that anything was happening anyway. We're they just going to keep them locked in this room forever? What were these plans the leader had? "Just one stop" —what did that mean? Why was it so important that he got his revenge for this Brodie Wilson guy's death? She had so many questions, but none would be answered yet.

Stella closed her eyes and tried to think of something else, something outside these four walls. Naturally, she thought about what the first fast food meal she would delve into would be when she got out. She shook her head and tried to think of something else instead. She didn't need to be thinking about food.

TR.

Her team. Her family. She wondered what they were all doing, but quickly figured they were either blissfully unaware or running around like headless chickens trying to find her and Grace.

There was a mumble of voices outside the door, one closer and louder than the others. Stella and Grace looked at each other, then Grace quickly rushed over to stand flush against the wall next to the door, an unspoken agreement that the next person who came in would be their ticket out of there. Stella remained sitting on the floor opposite the door so it wouldn't raise any more suspicion that necessary when this person first opened the door.

To her dismay, they walked straight past the room, exiting the building at the end of the corridor; she could hear the beep of the door opening. Stella let out a frustrated sigh, and Grace's shoulders slumped. Maybe they would have to wait until tomorrow. She had to remind herself that, for now at least, their captors wanted to keep them alive. Sooner or later they'd have to send someone in with food.

"Sit against the back wall and stay there."

They both jumped at the sudden voice and shadow outside the door.

Three seconds and they would come in.

Grace readied herself next to the door again, her shoulder glued to the wall with a prepared stance.

Two seconds.

Stella's heart pounded with anticipation. They could be out of there in less than a few minutes.

One second.

The knob twisted and the door was opened. It took a few milliseconds and a full step inside the room for a confused noise to escape his mouth: Stella looked to be alone. Grace's arm swung with force, her fist colliding with his temple. He fell straight away. Comically, Grace caught the tray and stopped what would've caused a loud clang, leaving the guy to collapse with an ungraceful thud.

Stella gingerly stood, taking the tray of food and swiping a couple of mouthfuls of bread as Grace started to drag the guy further inside. Stella peered outside the door into the hall. It was shorter than she remembered. It was also empty. She put the tray down and stepped across the threshold, peering around to the left with every small step; she could see three people in the open lounge-like room, all with their backs to them. Talk about lucky.

Stella closed the door as quietly as she could, then nodded to Grace to take the lead. They both crouched low, hugged the wall, and kept a fast, steady pace away from their captors. She looked at the hallway behind her, checking to make sure they were still alone. Clear. Suddenly, she collided with Grace's back as soon as she turned back around, both of them coming to a very abrupt halt.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Stella looked over Grace's shoulder. The leader was standing in front of the exit. _Their_ exit. Where did he come from? His arms were folded as he shook his head. He matter-of-factly pointed to the ceiling, and Stella followed his gaze. A camera.

"We've been watching you all along."

The breath in her lungs escaped her painfully as she was grabbed from behind, lifted, and taken back to their room.

—

Stella yawned. She'd had a sleepless night, yet again. She looked over at Grace. She was sitting cross-legged against the wall on the opposite side, picking at her nails.

"Great. We're still here."

Grace scoffed in reply.

Stella sighed. After they were taken back to their room the previous night, the lights were turned out and they were left standing in the dark. They'd briefly spoken about discussing further strategies after they got some sleep, but Stella was coming up empty. She couldn't think of anything else they could try that they hadn't already done.

Moving her arms to rub her temples reminded her of how stiff and sore her body was, so she decided to just lay there for a bit longer. There was no hurry for anything, apparently.

—

"- _muffle_ \- been a change of schedule. I want - _muffle_ \- ready in ten. - _muffle_ \- time to move."

They both shot up. That was the leader's voice, there was no mistaking it. Stella stared at Grace, both with horror in their eyes. "Do you think...?"

Does Grace think that was about them? Of course.

What were they going to do this time? How were they supposed to get out of this? They wanted to move them to another location? _One_ of them?

"It's okay..." Stella said, mostly trying to reassure herself. "We'll just have to keep fighting our way through it and hope someone is on their way."

A shadow was looming outside the door. It stretched, turning into more than one figure. There were more than two people out there. The door clicked. The handle turned. Four masked guys came filing in in quick succession, two going for Stella, two for Grace.

It happened so fast, a fist came at Stella's face, colliding and sending her flying to the ground. Her vision went blurry, tiny dots starting to take over. She couldn't muster the strength to get back up. She saw one of the guys grab Grace, bringing her back into him in a tight headlock. He drew a needle from somewhere, probably his pocket, pulled off the cap with his teeth, then stuck it in Grace's neck. She briefly struggled against him before her body went limp. One of the other guys hoisted her up on his shoulder.

"Grace..." her voice was inaudible. They closed the door behind them. Stella closed her eyes.

—

Whoever was yelling, she wanted to tell them to shut up. Her head was pounding, she didn't want to hear loud noises. But the yelling just grew louder. She sluggishly opened her eyes.

"Don't move!"

"Turn around!"

"Get down on your knees!"

The voices, they were so familiar.

There was a whole lot of unintelligible yelling, crashing, and banging. Then she remembered where she was. And those voices, they were her team. They came. They knew where she was. And Grace... Grace.

She could hear the door handles being tried down the hall, then, "Where are the keys?"

Then she heard doors open. "Stella?"

"I'm here!" her voice wasn't loud enough. But they were so close.

Then the door flew open. "She's in here!" It was Lawson. He came rushing over to her, followed by Michael. "Are you okay? Don't move."

"I'm okay." Lawson and Michael were hovering over her. Looking her up and down, they had pity in their eyes. She still couldn't believe it was really them. "Grace... Where is she, is she okay? They drugged her."

"She's fine, she's fine," Lawson nodded, "We stopped them before they got to the car. She's out cold but okay."

"Paramedics are on their way, we'll get you out of here in no time," Michael reassured.

Stella looked out the door to see their captors being escorted out by uniforms.

"We found out about the car accident," Michael continued. "Leon worked his magic and followed you guys as close to here as he could with street cameras. We were working day and night to find you. I'm so glad you're okay."

Then she saw the leader being escorted out. He had his head held high. She expected nothing less.

"It's over, Stella."

She looked at the faces above her and smiled in relief.


End file.
